Honiara City Council’s plan to facelift the central business district within the Point Cruz area is progressing well.
Town and Country Planning Board Chairman, Eddie Ngava told the Sunday Star that the council has started the process by engaging in consultations with property owners of the existing buildings which will be demolished and replaced with modern building structures.
He said the buildings affected in the plan are those flat roof structures from the Hot bread kitchen to the NPF building.
He said other building structures in the demolition of old buildings plan includes those beyond the city centre building to former Lilian Denis building adjacent to the NPF Plaza, inclusive of building aligned from the Point Cruz BSP to Bmobile office and beyond.
Ngava said the existing buildings were built during the colonial era and have surpassed their time and must be replaced with modern designed buildings in order to give a facelift to the city.
Ngava said while some critics may regard some of the buildings as historical replica of the past, the Town and Country Planning Board thinks otherwise.
“It’s not so much on the buildings; it’s rather the Mendana Avenue that is of history.
“Thus we need to improve the image of the avenue with new buildings and maintain its identity,” he explained.
The chairman said currently the board together with the city council is working in close consultation with the developers and property owners.
By BRADFORD THEONOMI
